NO LEO, NO CR7
Messi and Ronaldo miss out on Champions League last eight for first time since 2005
LIONEL Messi scored one stunning goal but then had a penalty saved as Barcelona failed in their attempt to produce a second Champions League comeback for the ages against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, a 1-1 draw taking the French side through to the quarter-finals 5-2 on aggregate.
Kylian Mbappe netted a hat-trick as PSG stunned Barca 4-1 in the first leg last month, and he extended their advantage in this last-16 tie by netting a first-half penalty in the second leg to put last season’s runners-up ahead on the night.
But Messi made it 1-1 with a ferocious strike from 30 metres and the Argentine had the chance to put the visitors ahead after Antoine Griezmann was fouled in the area, only for the outstanding Keylor Navas to tip his spot-kick onto the bar.
Barcelona certainly went for it, but there was to be no repeat of their infamous recovery against the same opponents four years ago, when they lost the first leg 4-0 but triumphed 6-1 in the return.
It is the first time they have gone out before the quarter-finals since 2007 and, after Juventus were knocked out on Tuesday, neither Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo will feature in the last eight for the first time since 2005.
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman can nevertheless be encouraged by the way his team played on a cold, wet and windy night at an empty Parc des Princes.
“We are out, and that is what counts in our sport, but we can feel good about it because we had chances to make life difficult for our opponents,” said Koeman.
“We deserved more, and things could have been different had it been 2-1 at half-time.”
Antoine Griezmann admitted Barcelona were “gutted” after going out of the Champions League.
“We put on a good showing, it was a great performance, we had a lot of chances in the first half but we just missed the finishing touch which was a shame,” said Griezmann after Barca had 20 attempts on goal but only scored courtesy of a Messi thunderbolt in the first half.
“We said we would give the most effort possible and it wasn’t to be. We still have the league and the cup left and we have to give everything in them.
“This match gives us confidence, but we’re gutted.
“We wanted to go through, the fans and the players don't deserve for this team to go out so early but we will come back next year and try to win.”
Meanwhile, PSG are safely through to the quarter-finals as they look to go one better than last season and win the Champions League for the first time.
They will feel this tie marks another step forward in their quest to become Europe’s dominant force, after three defeats at Barcelona’s hands in knockout ties since the Qatar Sports Investments takeover of a decade ago.
Victory was achieved despite Neymar missing both legs due to injury, with Mbappe providing enough stardust on his own.
Yet after lighting up the first leg, the French World Cup winner found the going tougher in the return, and coach Mauricio Pochettino will face some questions about his side’s approach.
“We are in the quarter-finals and we are very happy,” he told RMC Sport, adding: “Sometimes in football you need to be prepared to suffer.”
“Navas had a brilliant game. He is a world-class goalkeeper and you saw that tonight.”
SPORTS Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican does not rule out the possibility of an earlier return of fans to stadiums to watch M-League matches.
He said that for now, the Malaysian Football League (MFL) only need to work out the sports management protocol so that it does not violate the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the Movement Control Order (MCO).
Once this has been detailed, the ministry plan to propose allowing fans into stadiums with the National Security Council (NSC) as early as next week.
“The exact date (for presenting the matter) cannot be confirmed because the NSC meetings are also uncertain,” he told reporters after launching the Sports Industry Financing Scheme in Putrajaya yesterday.
Last week, at the launch of the 2021 M-League, Reezal Merican gave an assurance that the application for fans to be present in stadiums would be made two months after the start of the competition, which is based on the sports bubble concept.
However, rumours began to circulate that fans would be allowed to attend matches in stadiums as early as this month.
“What I meant when I spoke at the recent M-League was that if we could do it (get fans back into stadiums) in a month, it would be
a bonus.
“But if not, let’s hope it won’t be more than two months,” he explained.
The M-League, involving the Super League and Premier League, kicked off on March 5.
MANY coaches are unhappy with the standard of refereeing in the M-League. However, they are not brave enough to criticise referees in the open for fear of getting punished by the FA of Malaysia (FAM) for not going through the proper channels.
On Wednesday, Melaka coach Zainal Abidin Hassan was upset but decided against criticising the match officials for an incident during the 2-2 draw against PJ City FC at the MBPJ Stadium in Petaling Jaya.
The score stood at 1-1 when PJ City were awarded a penalty by referee Fairuzi Mat Desa after Khairil Anuar Zamri slipped and fell inside the Melaka penalty box in the 86th minute.
However, video replays suggested that Khairil had dived in front of striker S. Kumaahran, who had scored Melaka’s opening goal in the 50th minute.
Darren Lok stepped up and made no mistake from the spot to hand PJ City the lead.
Undeterred, Melaka fought hard and scored the equaliser through Faris Shah Rosli in the fifth minute of stoppage time to salvage a point.
It is understood that the Melaka United Soccer Association will file a complaint against the referee to FAM soon.
Zainal said: “I do not want to be suspended by talking about the penalty. Frankly, I wanted to ask the referee whether it was a penalty or not (after the final whistle), but I did not see him around.”
Melaka are not the first to be upset with local referees. Last week, Kuala Lumpur and UiTM FC were also furious with some of the decisions during their matches against Penang and Terengganu.
PJ City coach P Maniam is happy with the draw.
“However, my players need to be more confident on the pitch. In the first half, they were slightly nervous but gained confidence after the breather,” he said.